The main coolant plumbing will be concealed within the lower framing under the floor board. I am constructing a few brackets to support these tubes. I don’t want the tubing unsupported for more than a foot or so, so these brackets will help.
I want to put a roll bar/cage on the inside of the VW bug’s body shell. I will need to construct this cage later once the body is on for good. I am creating the lower roll cage mounts from 3/16″ steel angle that will have nuts welded to the back of them. This will allow me to proceed with the build knowing that I have the mounts for later.
Trying to think ahead a bit. I need to reenforce the front sway bar mounting tabs and I also need to attach something to bolt a roll bar to. I am attaching these bits of steel now so I can have something to bolt to later and not have to weld anything onto a already painted frame.
I am still working on the fuel cell box. I am enclosing both sides with some 16 ga. steel that I cut and bent to match a paper template. I will weld the entire box together and then close it off with a cover that I will construct later on in the build.
With the sway bar location determined, I have another thing to do before I can flip the frame over again. I need a box to contain the fuel cell. I will build this out of 16 Ga. steel and weld it all to the frame so I can put a cover on it later.
I now have the front sway bar in the correct position. I will mark all the locations and finish the mounts when I turn the frame over for finishing.
There is one more major item I have to fix before I finish up everything for painting. I was unhappy with my first attempt at lining up the front sway bar. I have now cut the drop links to allow the sway bar to be located directly below the shock mounts.
Welding, welding, welding. Before I can clean up and paint the frame, I must weld on a few more things. I will be welding in a box for the fuel cell as well as creating and welding on some panel mounting brackets.
I can finally start heading towards paint. I have removed the VW bug body and can now start to finish the welding. I also have the e-brake finished on the top of the frame. I will need to flip the frame over once more to finish the parking brake system. Paint is coming.